Galaxy’s Little Fish Balances the Scales
Carlos Ruiz grew up playing barefoot pickup soccer in the dusty, unpaved streets of Guatemala City’s Zone 21 barrio, the lower-middle class Bellos Horizontes.
It was a simpler time, Ruiz said, when dozens of children running the streets would make do with whatever the wind blew their way, taping together newspapers, rags and clothing into a makeshift soccer ball to kick around for bragging rights from sunrise to sunset.
“We’ve been playing it for more than 100 years and the children, they begin playing when they are very young,” Ruiz said. “I started when I was 6, playing in the street. It’s an obligation for the children to play. It’s expected of them.”
Nothing, though, was expected of a 12-year-old Ruiz when he packed up his street credentials and headed to an open tryout for a spot in the revered CSD Municipal team’s youth academy. He was one of about 1,800 youngsters to show up, and he was not taken seriously.
But less than four years after the tryout, after he had picked up his nickname Pescadito (Little Fish), he made his professional debut, the only player from the audition to make it to Municipal’s parent club.
Ten years later, the Little Fish is one of four Guatemalans playing internationally. The Galaxy rookie forward, whose 16 goals lead Major League Soccer, will also represent his club and country today as an MLS All-Star in an exhibition match against the U.S. national team at RFK Stadium in Washington.
“I didn’t expect it,” he said, “but with good teammates, good things can happen.”
When Ruiz, 22, signed with MLS as a Galaxy discovery pick Feb. 5, he found himself in the middle of a brewing storm.
Since MLS’ formation in 1996, the league has assigned a prominent Mexican player to the Galaxy, with Los Angeles’ Mexican population in mind.
But all three Mexican national team stars who have worn the Galaxy uniform--goalkeeper Jorge Campos and forwards Carlos Hermosillo and Luis Hernandez--were brought in well after their best days.
This year the Galaxy has no Mexican players for the first time in league history--a fact that Los Angeles’ Mexican-dominated Spanish-language media has been quick to point out--but the furor has died down a bit thanks to Ruiz’s rapid and stunning success.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Chinese, Spanish, Mexican, Guatemalan
In 64 regular-season games over four seasons, Hermosillo and Hernandez scored a total of 26 goals.
Ruiz already has 16 goals, five game-winners, in 18 games. Learning on the fly to play the faster, more physical MLS game, Ruiz is the league’s second-leading scorer with 32 points, two behind New England’s Taylor Twellman, who has 15 goals and four assists in 20 games.
Why has Ruiz thrived where Hermosillo and Hernandez struggled?
For one thing, Guatemala was out of the World Cup picture and the Galaxy is Ruiz’s top priority.
For another, Ruiz actually wants to be here.
“Luis Hernandez was ... an experiment that didn’t work out for us,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said.
“Yet Carlos Ruiz is just tearing up this league and that guy exudes passion. Whether that’s Latino passion or a soccer passion, when you watch this guy play on the field, it just draws you to the television. I’m watching in New York and you knew Carlos Ruiz was going to score and not let those fans go home, 55,000 of them, unsatisfied on July 4.”
Garber was referring to Ruiz’s 87th-minute game winner against San Jose at the Rose Bowl.
“The fact that Carlos Ruiz has a Hispanic heritage I think is a good thing for the Latino community here [in Los Angeles],” Garber said. “Now, if Carlos Ruiz was Mexican, would it be better for us? Probably would be, perhaps.
“I’d rather have Carlos Ruiz than just having a Mexican guy who might be some 21-year-old guy that’s just there on the bench or maybe he’s playing somewhere on the field but not tearing up this league.”
Ruiz’s teammates cast early suspicious glances his way. Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas, who played against Ruiz and Guatemala in Olympic qualifying more than two years ago, was among them.
“He wasn’t half the player he is now,” Vagenas said. “I was a little iffy at first because I didn’t think he was the true solution or the true goal scorer that we needed.
“But, as he’s proven since he’s gotten here, he’s more than just a goal scorer. He does all the dirty things that we need on top of that, whether it’s holding the ball for us or giving the team some structure.”
Ruiz leads the team in shots (70), shots on goal (38), fouls committed (45) and fouls suffered (46). Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid believes more should be called against opponents.
“He goes down rather easily and I think that’s sort of the rap that’s come upon him,” Schmid said of the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Ruiz. “I think there’s times when he is truly getting fouled and referees are not giving him a break. That’s a little bit disappointing and that’s frustrating for him because we’ve told him, ‘Just stand up there and take it and you’ll get the calls.’ ”
The timing was perfect for the relationship between MLS, the Galaxy and Ruiz to bloom this season. But next year he will undoubtedly hear the call of his country for the Gold Cup, which is being moved to the summer, in the middle of the MLS season.
Mix in Olympic and World Cup qualifying with his loftier aspirations and things aren’t so clear.
“My [MLS] contract is for four years but I hope that in two or three years I can leave for another type of futbol,” Ruiz said.
“Maybe Europe or Mexico. My dream has always been to play in Mexico.”
Ruiz had a frustrating seven-month stint with Greek first-division club PAS Ioanina in 2000 and claims he has yet to be paid for his service there. Ultimately, though, he wants to play as a foreigner in the Mexican league with Necaxa, following the trail blazed by Ivo Bassay (Chile) and Alex Aguinaga (Ecuador).
For now, Ruiz is enjoying life in Pasadena, where he shares an apartment with his wife Laura, who is expecting the couple’s second child this month, and 2-year-old daughter Andrea Michelle.
His mind still wanders, though, back to growing up as a goalkeeper in a soccer-mad country of 13 million as the lone boy in a four-daughter family whose father died when Carlos was 3.
Ruiz can’t remember why he’s been called Pescadito for more than a decade, but he takes pride that he is seen as a forefather, of sorts, of Guatemalan international soccer.
His every move in the U.S. is documented by the Guatemalan media, as are those made by countrymen Freddy Garcia (Columbus Crew in MLS), former Galaxy midfielder Martin Machon (Atlas in Mexico) and Dwight Pezzarosi (Racing Ferol in Spain).
It is the first time that as many as four Guatemaltecos are playing abroad at the same time, Ruiz said.
“We all need to perform and represent well,” he said, “to show the world that there is enough talent in Guatemala to play anywhere in the world.”
Including, it would seem, in the dusty roads of a poor barrio.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
TODAY’S MLS ALL-STAR GAME
at RFK Stadium, Washington, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7
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Galaxy update--Rookie forward Carlos Ruiz is one of five first-time All-Stars voted as starters for the MLS team. He will face veteran teammates Cobi Jones and Alexi Lalas, who were called up by U.S. Coach Bruce Arena for the exhibition. Jones, the U.S. all-time caps leader with 158, has played in the past three World Cups. He has a team-high seven assists for the Galaxy. Lalas was on the U.S. World Cup teams in 1994 and 1998 and was U.S. soccer’s player of the year in 1995. He has two goals and four assists for the Galaxy. Next year’s All-Star game and MLS Cup championship match will be played at the Home Depot National Training Center in Carson.
Paul Gutierrez
